Wonder Land

A piece I did on Viktor & Rolf. Can you smell the advertorial?

The worlds of art and fashion are often seen as mutually exclusive realms – with institutional art being yin to the sartorial yang. Rarely is this concept so clearly evidenced than in the work of the notoriously conceptual Dutch design duo, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren – aka Viktor & Rolf.

Aside from their complete competence in couture tailoring, it is the theatrics of their runway shows that have aided their meteoric rise to the height of fashion’s elite. From presenting a range of balloon-filled clothes that represent the atom bomb, to models tap-dancing A Chorus Line-style and the queerness of men ballroom dancing down the catwalk as plumes of smoke waft through the audience, it is the fusion of their collections with performative art that has led critics, such as those at New York Times Magazine, to decree that “Viktor & Rolf are artists and fashion is their medium.”
Just don’t tell them that.

“We have always considered ourselves as fashion designers without thinking of art as a factor of our work,” say both Viktor & Rolf, the two having a habit of finishing each other’s sentences. “We believe fashion is so much more than just clothes. Fashion shows are like plays and the clothes are actors in the play.”

Often miscategorised as twin-geeks of the fashion world, the pair met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Art Academy in the Netherlands, before moving to Paris to intern for such powerhouses as Maison Martin Margiela.

“We grew up in the suburbs, in a country where fashion doesn’t exist,” they say. “When we looked at international fashion magazines, we fantasized about a world where fashion was a dream – an escape from reality. It still is!”

At night, in the small apartment they shared, they would create clothes to be displayed on the Parisian art circuit. In 1993, they won the Festival d’Hyeres prize, which led them to their first haute couture show in 1998 and, subsequently, acceptance as the only Dutch designers to ever be received by the prestigious Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris. Since then, the duo have upheld their reputation as high fashion’s newest enfant terribles, delivering season after season of critically lauded ready-to-wear and couture collections.

Their menswear line, Monsieur, officially launched in 2005, was met with resounding success. The label producing everything from high-cut boy’s shorts, brilliantly patterned shirts and the dandified eveningwear of a fitted tuxedo, complete with top hat.

The label itself was founded in 1993, yet only a decade later the young team (they are both 37) found themselves subject to a retrospective of their work by the Fashion Museum in Paris. Their recent collaboration with fashion retailer H&M, along with the release of fragrances under the tutelage of L’Oréal, ensure that Viktor & Rolf will be a mainstay of the luxury fashion set. The deal with L’Oréal being particularly telling, as it is the first time in 10 years that the cosmetic giant has contracted designers in this way. Their recently released men’s fragrance, Antidote, already smells of success.

So, what does the future have in store for Viktor & Rolf?
“Anything is possible.”